Working at Home with Kids

People generally assume that working and playing with children can't be mixed.  But it's entirely possible to do both, as long as you're flexible.  It does help to be good at multi-tasking and able to frequently switch your focus from work to your children and then back to work (which makes me wonder if people with ADD / ADHD might be perfect for parenting while working).

Saturdays around here usually consist of condensing a week's worth of chores (organizing the living room, getting laundry done, etc.) into the first few hours of the morning and then being able to devote my focus to the girls (except for external tasks like grocery shopping) from about 10:00 or 11:00 a.m. on.  Today, though, I had a large document I had to work on for probably two or three hours of the day, so after the apartment was looking good, I had to balance trying to get that done with playing with the girls.

I would work on the computer for a while, answering Alpha's questions or going to the other room momentarily so she could show me whatever she was playing with, and then take a longer break to have more dedicated time with her and Echo.  Bringing various toys of Echo's into the office also helped; that way she was happy but still within range for me to keep a constant eye on her.  I've become used to nursing while typing (another benefit of not having to use a bottle), and Echo is still young enough that she wants to nurse periodically for emotional support even when she's not hungry, so that gave me more blocks of time where I could work without having to look away from the computer every thirty seconds to check on her.  When I was nearly done with the work and anxious to finish it but Alpha was really needing me to be close to her, I printed out the document and took it in the room where she was playing so I could proof it one last time.  That allowed me to hold Echo on my lap so she was happy, be in Alpha's vicinity so she was happy, and still get the work done.  It was just a matter of finding creative ways to get things done.

I'm not saying that working while caring for kids is effortless.  And yes, I would undoubtedly have finished the work earlier in the day if they had been with a babysitter.  But since weekends are the only days I have to be with the girls all day, I don't want to lose that opportunity.  As it turned out, I finished the work by the time it really needed to be done, and I was still able to be with my girls all day--which, to us, is worth a lot. 

I know many parents who telecommute or have their own businesses and who work with their children by the sides all the time.  If you're determined and are willing to experiment with different techniques, it's entirely possible to achieve a nice balance in this way.